1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to firearms, and more specifically to ammunition magazines for firearms.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Many firearms utilize ammunition magazines to hold ammunition to be loaded into the firing chamber of the firearm and eventually fired. Specifically, handguns, and particularly semi-automatic handguns, often house an ammunition magazine in a cavity in the handle or grip portion. With such a configuration, the magazine is generally inserted upward into the cavity via an opening on the bottom surface of the firearm handle.
Often, ammunition magazines will include a magazine base pad attached to the lower portion of the magazine housing. As is understood in the art, the magazine base pad provides a surface external to the magazine cavity of the firearm that allows a user to interface with the magazine. Amongst other benefits, this allows a user to quickly orient the magazine for proper insertion during a reload as well as provides a bottom surface which allows a user to forcefully insert the magazine into its proper position within the magazine cavity.
Currently, a magazine base pad connects to the magazine housing by utilizing a base pad retaining plate to hold the magazine base pad in place. The base pad retaining plate typically comprises a cylindrical or square shaped protrusion on its lower surface which interacts with a corresponding through-hole in the magazine base pad. An ammunition magazine spring existing inside the magazine housing exerts downward forces on the base pad retaining plate to maintain the position of the protrusion inside the through-hole. The physical interference between the protrusion and the walls of the through-hole in turn keep the magazine base pad from sliding off the magazine housing.
With these known configurations, a sharp blow to the magazine (either from forceful insertion into the magazine cavity or dropping the magazine) can dislodge the protrusion from the through-hole allowing the magazine base pad to slide off the magazine housing resulting in catastrophic disassembly of the magazine. This condition is most probable when the magazine is fully or partially empty, which corresponds to less compression of the magazine spring and lower forces exerted on the base pad retaining plate. Thus, a more stable configuration that is resistant to impact forces is desired to eliminate catastrophic disassembly of the magazine.
Additionally, known base pads often closely match the dimensions and contours of the corresponding firearm's handle or grip. This makes it difficult to grasp or remove a magazine that is stuck within the magazine cavity of the firearm. Further, such a configuration results in an elongated front toe portion of the magazine base pad. This increases the likelihood that the magazine can catch on surfaces (such as other magazines or fingers) when extracting another magazine stored on a user's body in close proximity (i.e., in a pouch or magazine carrier). Moreover, the longer toe can inhibit proper palm indexing of the magazine for users with smaller hands. Thus, a magazine base pad that diverges from the contours of the firearm handle or grip is desired.